Performance Report 2002/2003

Minister’s Message

I am pleased to submit to Parliament the Performance Report for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for the period ending March 31st, 2003.

The Solicitor General portfolio encompasses five key areas: the Department of the Solicitor General, the RCMP, the Correctional Service of Canada, the National Parole Board, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Three review bodies also report to the Solicitor General and ensure the agencies’ accountability to the public and full respect for the rule of law.

These organizations, through their individual mandates and as part of the larger portfolio, ensure the safety and security of Canadian homes and communities. The RCMP is a vital partner in this coalition. As Canada’s national police force, it works at all four levels of policing – municipal, provincial, federal and international – to prevent crime from occurring and to investigate and enforce laws when it does occur.

At the community level, the RCMP plays a major role in the National Crime Prevention Strategy, which funds over 3,000 projects in over 740 communities. I have had the opportunity to visit some of these communities in the past year, and have met the children and youth-at-risk who have benefited from our strategy. The results are heartening. Crime prevention projects are excellent examples of how partnerships between police, local communities and other levels of government make an inestimable contribution to public safety.

Providing culturally appropriate police services in Canada’s First Nations communities is also a priority of the Government of Canada, and the RCMP, through the role it plays in the aboriginal communities and the First Nations Policing Program, is key in this regard.

Last December, at the national level, we introduced legislation to establish a national sex offender registry, which will include information on anyone convicted of specific sexual offences. I am confident that we can build a registry that will match the outstanding track record of other national systems, like the DNA data bank, which showed a ten-fold increase in the past year in the number of hits or links between DNA profiles, and crime scenes or convicted offenders.

Last year, also at the national and international levels, our efforts against organized crime continued, and new legislation came into force. We are proud of such efforts as the Integrated Proceeds of Crime units, which target organized crime groups and seize their ill-gotten assets – over $215 million so far, with about $89 million in forfeitures and fines.

The National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) is now under the responsibility of the RCMP. This specialized team supports local police investigations into firearms, including weapons trafficking and smuggling. They have been key players in a number of high profile firearms cases.

While our paramount duty is to safeguard Canadian citizens, our borders are no longer the limits of this obligation. We have been working more closely with international partners, especially the US. In December 2002, United States Attorney General Ashcroft and I signed an agreement to improve the exchange of fingerprint information between the FBI and the RCMP. We have implemented the Integrated Border Enforcement Teams and Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams – both good examples of solid collaboration across jurisdictions. These teams include the RCMP and other Canadian law enforcement agencies, working in cooperation with enforcement personnel from the US to gather intelligence and conduct investigations at the border. The RCMP is a leader in helping our two countries maintain a border that is open to legitimate trade and travel, but closed to terrorists and criminals. We also have a strong commitment to international groups such as the G8, cooperating on a number of key issues, from child pornography to money laundering.

As the world and society have changed, the RCMP’s mandate and influence has grown. I am sure the first officers of the North West Mounted Police in 1873 could not have imagined the scope and sophistication of the criminality we know in the 21st century.

This report details many examples of the RCMP’s excellent work in support of community safety at all levels, as well as national and international security. I am confident that Commissioner Zaccardelli’s vision and the hard work of all the men and women who form part of the RCMP will ensure continuing success for the organization, and continuing security and well-being for all Canadians.

I welcome your input and perspectives on this and other Solicitor General portfolio performance reports as we continue to serve the public safety needs of our citizens.

The Honourable Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P.
Solicitor General of Canada